


Tired of Dreaming

by politicalmamaduck



Series: On the Hunt [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin/Padme parallels, Dark Side Rey, F/M, Planet Naboo (Star Wars), Reylo Charity Anthology, Short One Shot, Smuggler Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 07:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17382647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/politicalmamaduck/pseuds/politicalmamaduck
Summary: Rey follows Ben Solo to Naboo. After yet another duel with her smuggler prey, she makes a choice.





	Tired of Dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was originally written for the 2018 Reylo Charity Anthology. A huge thank you to the mods and those who donated to receive a copy in November 2018! 
> 
> This piece can be read as a stand-alone Dark Rey/Smuggler Ben one-shot, or in conjunction with the two other pieces in my series. You may imagine this piece taking place either before or after the second of that series.

In his dreams, he took her to Naboo, to his grandmother’s villa on the lake.

His mother wept when she saw it for the first time, its elegance and splendor. He felt as much at peace as he ever had wandering its halls and exploring the lake and meadows nearby.

Ben liked to imagine Rey’s eyes filled with wonder; he doubted she had ever cried, and even if she had, she certainly wouldn’t in front of him. The idea of taking a woman who had been a feral desert child and twisted into an instrument of the Dark Side to a place so gentle, filled with the grace and beauty the Naboo so prized, showing her what existed beyond her passion and her hate, helped him sleep at night while she hunted him.

Their fates were bound, and they both knew it. Ben Solo had been hunted his entire life: by the HoloNet media, by admirers hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary Jedi prodigy, by bounty hunters and the worst kinds of scum the galaxy over.

He was exhausted. He was tired of being the hunted, the prey, another good looking smirk hiding the sadness in his words. He had spent long hours meditating like his uncle Luke had taught him, long hours training for the inevitable ambushes in seedy cantinas, brawling with bounty hunters and villains. He wrestled with his demons, both physically and mentally, fighting a battle with which every Jedi, every Skywalker struggled.

At least the Skywalkers with Force sensitivity, he thought. He doubted his grandmother Padme had skeletons in her closet in this luxurious villa, or ever wrestled with inner demons. She seemed so sure of herself in a way Ben never had been, despite being thrust onto the galactic stage as a child like he had.

He wondered if Rey had ever heard of Padme Amidala, or Naboo, growing up in the squalid Jakku desert.

She had chased him the galaxy over, and still had not given up, not given in. He could feel her presence even now, somewhere else on the planet, that relentless hunger and anger.

If she devoured him, what would be left of her? Who would explain to her what the Force had done with them, why they could feel each other in a way they could not feel anyone else?

He fell asleep in his grandmother’s bed, reaching for an outstretched hand that wasn’t there, had never been there.

 

* * *

 

Rey was thirsty. Hungry, even. She had been perched in a precarious position for far too long.

She knew as soon as she left, however, that her quarry would materialize.

Her hunger was for far more than just sustenance. She longed to see him again. It was not an untoward desire; she needed to see him to complete the mission and either turn him to the Dark Side or collect the bounty on his head.

While she pondered which she would prefer, his last remarks to her echoed through her brain.

_Is that really true? I think you have a lot more choices than you want to admit._

_You’ll have to follow me across the stars_.

Right now, Rey regretted her choice to surveille a quiet Theed street corner alone. She remained rooted to her spot for hours, meditating and trying to keep her mind focused on the mission.

He had come into Theed by speeder from the south. In that direction lay the quiet, beautiful Lake Country for which Naboo was so famous. Undoubtedly he was hiding something out there; a hidden weapons cache, perhaps, or storing something for the Resistance. She caught a glimpse of him through her monocular, and was startled by how dark the circles under his eyes were.

He went about his business in the morning, buying supplies in the market and blending into the crowds. After the midday meal, however, when the city became quiet with the sounds of birds chirping and fountains flowing echoing through the now empty streets, he slipped into the palace, seemingly unseen.

She needed not only to ensure she saw him leaving, but also to ascertain for what purpose he met with the Naboo queen. The planet could not risk open warfare with the First Order, that was certain. It was also certain that the smuggler scum with Nubian blood in his veins would be a cause celebre for the planet.

Rey arched and cracked her back, and there he was, walking out of the palace and directly towards her hiding spot. She swung down from a ledge, landing gracefully in front of him, her cape flowing behind her.

He looked even more exhausted up close.

“Rey,” he said, emotionless.

“You don’t seem surprised to see me,” she said. “Nor was that a warm welcome to your ancestral home planet.”

“I don’t have the diplomatic skills of my mother and grandmother,” he replied, gesturing to a mural of famed Padme Amidala.

“Neither do I,” she said, igniting her lightsaber and drawing stares and gasps from the twilight dinner crowd.

“I don’t want to keep fighting you, Rey,” he said, making no move to draw his own weapon.

“Then don’t,” she said, and stretched out her hand.

He looked at her hand and clearly wrestled with something in his mind. The Force flowed off of him in rolling emotional waves, mimicking the famous fountains.

“Come with me to the Lake Country,” he said, taking her hand. “I’ll make you my grandmother’s favorite pear dessert.”

She laughed at him, bringing her saber up to point at his chin. “You surrender and come with me now. Snoke will be very anxious to see you.”

“I don’t think he will,” Ben replied. “Because when we go to see him, we’re going to destroy him once and for all.”

Rey continued laughing. Ben sighed.

He ignited his ‘saber, and they began their deadly dance once more. People ran, screaming, towards the palace, but it would be of no avail; the Naboo Security Forces were no match for the Force bonded pair, and even if they were, Ben had already warned the Queen and asked her to order them not to interfere.

They twirled and clashed through the city streets, their breathing and their lightsabers crashing the beats to a melody only they could hear.

Their duel ended with Rey slipping and falling into the river, stunned and startled. Floating in the river, she realized she had gone too long without eating and sleeping properly, feeding only on her roiling emotions. It made her weak and vulnerable. She would never make that mistake again. She was the Master of the Knights of Ren. She was the Dark Lady of the First Order. She could, and would, do better.

She could have fallen asleep in the soothing waters, but he extended his hand to pull her back over onto the street, saying once more “Come with me to the Lake Country.”

Rey took his hand, and his cloak from his speeder, dripping wet and seething with anger.

She was not done with the smuggler yet, but she could bide her time for a few days. She made her choice; she had followed him across the stars. She could follow him a little while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave me a comment with your thoughts and come talk to me on Tumblr or Dreamwidth! A huge thank you as always to my beta boo Desiree.


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